Who were the Black Irish?

My Irish people always referred to me as Black Irish due to my black hair and skin tones. Both my parents of Galway were dark.In the US Army, I had some Hispanic soldiers address me in Spanish. I find this a very interesting topic.

Very interesting...but my brother was just told after a DNA study that his health problem was due to his Spanish heritage. Both sides of our family have been in North America for hundreds of years primarily migrating from Ireland pre-famine era and marriages over here have been mostly with others of Irish descent.

To Ms.Gail, who asked about genetic evidence: I read an interesting book a couple years ago called "Saxons, Vikings and Celts: the Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland." The author, in contrast to this article, found significant evidence that the "legend" of the sons of Mil emigrating from Spain to Ireland was in fact supported by the DNA found in modern Irish. My Dad is "black Irish" - black, wavy hair with green eyes.

The Roman invasion included soldiers from all over europe and the mediterranean, including black africans. Unwilling subjects alway band together against their oppressors. By the time of the roman invasion europe was already well mixed. Keep in mind also that the nordics traded with the middle east using an overland and river route through europe.

Loved it! Much more information than I'd taken away from a movie, the name of which escapes me now. Anyway, I'm intrigued by all information/history/lore Irish!

You forgot the Bicycle Irish. Bicycle Irish are people like Teddy Kennedy, and his clan. They hurt your rear end.

You forgot the Bicycle Irish. Bicycle Irish are people like Teddy Kennedy, and his clan.

Reading the other posted comments only adds to this very interesting article.

Very, very interesting. Who would have thought. The title is misleading. I was thinking more in terms of black people with Irish surnames such as Donavan McNabb.

Interesting article...many different cultures settled in Ireland. My grandfather was Thomas Stanislaus Schultz. claimed the family settled in Cork during the British/ Hessian hired invasion of Cromwell era.

Interesting article although I agree with with some of the comments that the writer got some facts wrong. Normans were'nt necessarily French and the Viking and saxon invasions from scandanavia started much earlier. I too have heard many definitions for Black Irish...one not mentioned here which I've heard a lot is that its the Irish with the wanderlust...the adventurers. Those that have moved around the world in our diaspora. I'm surprised to see nothing on that? Also it was my belief that the Irish red hair came from scandanivia invasions. And that Poland had the most red-haired people in the world...but I've nothing to support that.

never saw a black with blue eyes anywhere.

mcdolan, those Israelis are of European origin not those Israelis with origins in the Middle East. Also the original Irish were fair skinned and not the other way around, just look at the examples of hair samples found in bogs etc. your points have no facts to back them up, or at least not in anyhting I have read. I woudl be interested in what you said if you cna back it up.

I was thinking the same thing about the "emigrants" to the West Indies. Like the book, "To Hell or Barbados" by Sean O'Callaghan. Read that and weep.

I'm sorry but much of it is "vanilla."-- So much more could have been said about what was mentioned in passing... for examples, the Vikings were in two distinct waves, the latter being mainly Danes, who are often "dark"as compared to the earlier Norse, from whom we & the Scots got our red hair; the "emigrants" to the West Indies? does this refer to the 10s of thousands of Irish slaves shipped out in Cromwell's 1600s rampages???